Author Topic: Training my Husky to not run away...  (Read 68355 times)

Offline MaroonKellBells

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Training my Husky to not run away...
« on: June 06, 2005, 03:52:09 pm »
Hello, all!  I'm new here, and just thought I'd see if any of you have managed to train your dogs to not run away.  I have a husky who's about a year and a half now, and he used to dart whenever he saw a door cracked open when he was a puppy.  He will now sit and stay while the door is open, but if he gets out of his collar while I'm running with him or if he escapes out of my house while a guest is opening the door, he just keeps running and won't come back...I have to hunt him down every time and carry him home, which is a big deal seeing as how I'm pretty petite.  Is there any way to train him to not run away or to at least have him come home after he leaves? :-\

Offline mamadog

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2005, 04:00:24 pm »
My girls are runners, but Finny is not. I have trained them all to not walk through a door without sitting first and wait for my "ok". Again, it doesn't always work with the girls. Finn was just so needy when we first got him that he wouldn't run cause he was too scared to be that far away from me. He is still a puppy, so we train him while walking on a leash to heal and stay with us. When I let him off leash he always stays right with us unless we say "ok" then he knows he's free to run around and do his own thing, but he still stays where we can see him. I don't know if it's the training or just his beng so needy. My girls love me to death but they will still run. I read a training book once that says if your dog runs it means they don't love you but I don't believe that for a second. I just figured some dogs run, some don't, by nature. Maybe obedience clesses would help him??

Vicki

Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2005, 06:58:44 pm »
I agree totally with you vicki, that a dog that runs doesnt love you, nooooo

Zeus our Siberian Husky, is pretty good, he listens to you well, and even if he is thinking of running (which you can see sometimes that he is thinking) if you in a sharp voice say stay, or sit or whatever you want him to do, he usually does it. But we got him as a rescue too, and he was needy too, so that may have something to do with it. The golden x we have, Buffy she is also a rescue has serious problem with selective hearing. We have trained her the same way we have all the other dogs, and when she wants to she is the perfect obediance dog but if she doesnt feel like listening, you could scream all your lungs could take, and she would still not even turn back and look at you. We never let her loose due to that problem, She was hit by a car before we took her in, and we had to carry her in a towel under belly for weeks, so Ill do everything in my power to not have her crash into a car again.

There are different training methods out there, clicker training, more traditional training, you can research on internet or get a couple of good books and get some tips from them. One dog I had many years ago, we trained on a very very long leash, more like a line and did the "come here" command, you have control over the dog, and the dog thinks he can do his usual selective hearing thing. Use plenty of praise and treats when he comes and if you work with the line long enough, maybe that will break him out of not listening. Good Luck

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

Offline pndlake

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2005, 06:59:11 pm »
I'm with Vicky, they do not run because they don't love you - I believe it is just in their nature.  We live in the coutry so I have to be real careful because of livestock.  Niki will escape to chase squirrels but I know she won't chase livestock. But someone could take a shot at her anyway.  I have run around in the dark looking for her - but she always comes back. It scares me, I believe, because we don't have control, then we panic. It is not good but she is getting better about it as she gets older.  Did you know that Lassie in real life drove his owner crazy because he chased cars?  Lassie was really a boy.   What I am saying they, like humans, have their own quirks that we have to deal with. 
Peggy

Offline MaroonKellBells

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2005, 07:59:19 pm »
I hear a lot about "clicker training" but don't really know what it is...whatever it is, does it work?  I don't think Lennon runs away because he doesn't love me.  He's a husky from a family of sled dogs, he's supposed to run for a majority of his life.  When he runs, he gets this look in his eyes...it's like he's free and doing what he loves most.  It's almost the same look I get when I run ;D that's why I needed a breed that could run long distances.  The thing is, I've tried most training techniques on him and none have worked at all.  This clicker thing has gotten me interested, and I'm willing to give it a try.  When I talked to a dog trainer about Lennon's running habit, she said there's not much I can do and that huskies love to run.  Perhaps he'll grow out of this ??? I can only hope.  I'd be devistated if he got loose and something bad happened to him

Offline GrumpyBunny

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2005, 09:09:11 pm »
I hear a lot about "clicker training" but don't really know what it is...whatever it is, does it work?  

OK, I will try not to bore you too much with this (speaking on this subject used to be part of my job, and I could literally give a 20-minute lecture on this subject.  No one wants that!  I already talk too much as it is.).  But, I am no expert.  I have been familiar with the principals of it for quite some time, but have only just actually started using it.  There is probably someone on here much more qualified to speak on this than me!

Here is a very thumbnail version of the history/principles.  Clicker traning is a form of training that uses positive reinforcement - basically rewarding the good stuff and ignoring the bad.  It was originally developed by dolphin trainers (mainly Karen Pryor) for working with animals that were not easy to train using "normal' methods.  

You teach the animal to associate the sound of the click with something good, usually food.  You click and treat, click and treat, until the animal  knows that the click sound means something good is coming.  Essentially, the click sound says to the animal "Yes!  You did a good job".  It becomes a way to tell them that they are doing the right thing.  If I ask Ranger to sit, and he does, I click and treat and he knows that sitting was the behavior I wanted.  If he offers a sit without being asked, and I click and treat, he thinks "Oh, ok, she likes it when I sit down.  Good things happen when I sit".  Eventually, over time the click may even come to be rewarding in and of itself.  

The other thing the click can do is act as a bridging signal - way to bridge the amount of time between the animal performing the correct behavior and the animal getting rewarded for it.  It specifys the exact instance in time that the correct thing was done, and can help you "shape" a behavior.  Let's say Ranger walks over to me, puts his paw on my knee and then lays down.   I tell him he is good and give him a treat.  What was good?  What did he just get that cookie for?  Was it coming to me?  Pawing me?  Laying down?  How does he know?  Now imagine that same sequence of behaviors, but this time I click when he lays down.  He knows that out of all those things he just did, laying down was the one I liked.  

BTW, it doesn't even necessarily have to be a click.  Dolphin trainers often use a whistle.  You can even use a word, like "good".  Most trainers prefer the click, or other non-human sound, because it is consistent and sounds the same way every time you make the sound.  The human voice carries a lot of tones and inflections, and therefore can be inconsistent to doggy ears.

So, that is my lecture.  Hope it wasn't too boring!  I recommend giving it a try.  You will probably need to so some background reading to get started, but eventually you would probably be able to shape the behavior of your dog staying by your side, or at least coming when called!
*Founder of the Official Suspicious Chicken Fan Club*

Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2005, 09:19:48 pm »
Hands down, that was a spot on intro to clicker grumpybunny  :D I love clicker training, the first time I really used it in training was with a Border Collie I fostered, he didnt have a good start in life and did not listen too well. The clicker worked wonders with him.

Kellbells..... I would also definately try the clicker, you have lots of different books on the subject and I am pretty sure youll love it. The Border Collie I talk about, used to be a lot like your husky, he choose not to listen, but after awhile with the clicker, he did a big change and even if he didnt become a perfect obedience dog, the family who adopted him could handle him and it gave him so much more freedom.

Good Luck and please let us know how things go

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

Offline pndlake

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2005, 09:23:42 pm »
Very interesting Grumpy.  I did not know the history of clicker training, now I do. That makes sense about it beginning with dolphins.  Everytime I read books on training and, like your advice, it has to do with common sense.  There is a world of great information on this site and the price is right.  Thanks

Peggy
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Offline greek4

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2005, 06:19:48 am »
Rocco is a runner.  Once he busts through the open gate, over the fence, or out the open front door, there is no command that will stop him.  Getting the invisible fence has stopped him completely.
I don't know if he would run somewhere else, I haven't let him get out of my hands to find out.

When he runs he looks back to make sure I look like a big a-hole chasing him alternating between yelling at him and trying to bride him to stop.  If I stop he will run back toward him and when I reach for him he will run away.  He won't follow him home because as soon as I turn my back he takes off again. 

He has only gotten out 3 times at my house in the past year, once when my step sister left the front door open ( I don't really know what she was thinking), once when one of the neighborhood kids let him out of the fence ( I now have a chain and deadbolt on the fence) and once when he took a flying leap over the fence.  All three times I caught him two streets over the a  nasty yard with half a dozen nasty lunging doors barking at him.  My idiot wanted to play with them.

I also have a shock collar with the hand remote that I put on him when I got to my Grandmother's in the country.  He stays close with that thing on because he knows he gets one warning then a shock.  He got a couple shocks last time and ran right back to me to whine about getting hurt.  He knows where the shock comes from (the little black box in my hand) but still runs back to Mommy to make him better.

I know Rocco loves me, so that is NOT the reason he runs.  Someone had told me in the past that was his reason.  I was pretty upset about it but then I realized it was a bunch of hog wash. ;D

Thanks,

Emily and 1 husband, 1 boy, 1 on the way, and 4 crazy dogs

Offline mamadog

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2005, 07:12:08 am »
What's funny about my girls running off (ok, it's funny now, not so much at the time) is that if I bring out their leashes and yell "wanna go for a walk?" the will come running up to me cause they LOVE going for a walk. Maybe someday they'll figure out that they were already on a walk!!  But for now they can't resist... they come running every time.

Vicki

Offline jabear

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2005, 08:33:53 am »
Good Luck with the trainng. My sister-in-law has a Husky named Kobe who is always doign that too. He is almost 3, I think, and is a handful. Best wishes from Bear who has sat patiently many times while we waited and searched for Kobe.
Hugs,
Jaime
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Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2005, 05:07:10 pm »
Jamie.... Bear is just too cool. Does he ever get crazy like most dogs or is he just a super cool guy the whole time?? Is your SIL here on this board too???

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

SaraphWolf79

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2005, 10:20:17 am »
Hiya everybody!  I'm new here, and came across this post and thought I was reading my own story there  ;)  I recently adopted my Husky Nanook from the pound about two months ago, and unfortunately, if he can get the chance to take off, he will.  He's already ran off three times now (the first time, he pushed open the gate and ran off, the second time, my roommate had the windows open and he pushed the screen right off and jumped through...the third time was just the other day, I was taking him to the vet and had his leash around my arm but somehow lost my grip and he took off)  what a funny sight, me chasing him down the road, the faster I ran to catch him, the faster he would run! 

If I could just get him to quit running, he'd be the perfect dog.  Also, is it in the breed's nature to never bark?  Mine to this day never has - only howls. 

-Carrie 

Offline irinad83

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #13 on: June 30, 2005, 10:29:33 am »
I have a 8 month old Siberian-crazy crazy little dog, independant, a darn teenager! Its so much work to get him to listnen lol, but when he does its like Christmas for me :)
I have read alot of books on Huskies and every single one of'em says-do not trust your husky off leash, no matter how long you've had them or how good they are, its in their nature to run and run and run and..you get the point, thats what they were bred to do, and trust me I know how frusterating it is! I think the best thing is to make sure they are always in a safe area.
I have heard of some people "brave enough" to have their husky off leash when walking, but i'm told its not a good idea.
They are stubbord, too smart, but isnt it part of the fun with them :)
Anyway, I'm sorry I dont have any good advise for you, I wish I knew how to get him to listen to me too :)
Have fun with your husky!

GYPSY JAZMINE

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Re: Training my Husky to not run away...
« Reply #14 on: June 30, 2005, 10:39:10 am »
I wish i knew the answer to that!...Samson is a Pyr & Pyrs tend to expand their bounderies so we just put up a fence so now we can enjoy Samson without having to worry...That is until he realizes someday that the fence is  jumpable & climable. :-\